India

India rejoiced late last week when Moody’s upgraded the sovereign's rating for the first time in 14 years. The boost has certainly stirred up some positive sentiment around the country and is a great stamp of approval for the numerous reforms it has put in place over the past year. But in reality, it will be business as usual, and the ratings lift will only have a limited impact — unless India thinks big.

Reliance Industries took advantage of the receptive market backdrop this week to seal a $800m bond on Monday, getting away with the tightest 10 year dollar note from an Indian corporate, according to bankers.

The year-end bond rush is upon us, with a number of issuers from China, India and South Korea mandating banks on Tuesday for their planned dollar bonds.

India’s Yes Bank has raised ¥16.5bn ($150m) in its maiden foray to the Japanese Samurai loan market, coming close on the heels of a $250m syndicated financing tied up with Taiwanese lenders a month ago.

Greatship (India) has hit the syndicated loan market for the first time in seven years, seeking $249m for refinancing.

India’s Reliance Industries is the first to take advantage of the positive sentiment around the country following the sovereign’s ratings upgrade last week. The petrochemical to digital services conglomerate started marketing a dollar bond on Monday morning.

In a positive end to a volatile week in Asia, Moody’s upgraded India’s government rating to Baa2 from Baa3, the agency's first boost of the sovereign since 2004.

Edelweiss Financial Services has added Rp15bn ($229.6m) to its coffers after pricing its qualified institutional placement at the bottom of the range.

Reliance Communications, an Indian telecoms business, defaulted on a $300m bond this week, failing to make a coupon payment to offshore investors after being given a seven-day grace period. The company has put together a plan to restructure its debt, but it has been greeted with widespread scepticism. Addison Gong reports.

The IPOs of two Indian government-owned insurance firms have disappointed on their debuts recently, after they were bailed out by a fellow state-backed insurer. The deals are the clearest sign yet that Life Insurance Corp (LIC) needs to stop meddling in government share sales and let the market take its course.

Galaxy Surfactants is planning an IPO in India worth some $200m, having filed a preliminary prospectus with regulators.

Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel has sold a block of shares in its subsidiary Bharti Infratel, raising Rp33.2bn ($507.8m).